Free Wi-Fi Blessings for that City by the Bay

San Francisco is a city of hustles and bustles. It's also one of the most expensive places in America to live, and that means finding a place with Wi-Fi can feel like the holy grail. Fortunately for all your hardworking, internet-needing residents, there are a ton of cafes that offer free Wi-Fi! So next time you're looking for coffee and internet in the City by the Bay, check out our list below!

1. The Fiddler's Elbow

2. Cafe Copalee

3. Bank Cafe

4. Mr. Holmes Bakehouse

5. Zeitgeist

6. Forage Cafe

7. Four Barrel Coffee

8. Sightglass Coffee Roasters

9. Local Edition Cafe and Newsstand

10. The Mill

11. Coffee Bar SF

12. Joe's Cable Car Cafe

13. Uncle Vesta Cafe and Coffee Roasterie (New!) 1495 Church Street, San Francisco, CA 94131 1599 Haight Street, San Francisco, CA 94117 1001 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94109 3725 Geary Boulevard, San Francisco, CA 94118 714 Valencia St., San Francisco, CA 94110 1805 Fillmore St., San Francisco, CA 94115 2300 Chestnut St. #110, San Francisco, CA 94123 5000 Irving Street, San Francisco, CA 94122 350 Rhode Island Street, San Francisco, CA 94110 1660 Haight St., San Francisco, CA 94117 1927 Fillmore Street, San Francisco, CA 94115

1245 Geneva Ave., San Francisco, CA 94112 1565 Sloat Blvd., San Francisco, CA 94132 1737 Post St. # H301 (inside Rite Aid), SAN FRANCISCO , ca 94110

1737 Post St. # H301 (inside Rite Aid), SAN FRANCISCO , ca 94110

539 Castro St., San Francisco, CA 94114

1369 California St., San Francisco, CA 94109

1286 Sutter Street, San Francisco, CA 94109

1737 Post St. # H301 (inside Rite Aid), SAN FRANCISCO , ca 94110

2950 16th Street (inside Target Shopping Center), SAN FRANCISCO , ca 94103

1933 Fillmore Street, San Francisco, CA 94115

832 Folsom Street #3a–3b (inside Nine Space Gallery), SAN FRANCISCO , CA 94107-1613 1905 Powell St. Suite B1, SAN FRANCISCO , CA 94133

417 Cortland Ave. (inside Safeway), SAN FRANCISCO , CA 94110

1131 Polk St. (inside Safeway), SAN FRANCISCO , CA 94109

3010 Steiner Street (inside Marcus Market), SAN FRANCISCO , CA 94123

3474 18th Street (inside Whole Foods Market), SAN FRANCISCO , CA 94110-1346

1901 Union St., San Francisco, California 94123

865 Market St., San Francisco, California 94103   [ARTICLE END] I would have liked to have seen this article include at least 1 or 2 cafes that are not chains. It looks like the majority of cafes on this list are Chain/Doughnut shops. I have to add 49 Post Place Cafe to the list of places that offer free Wi-Fi in San Francisco. This cafe is located on the ground floor of the historic Post and Lathrop Building at 49 Post Street, San Francisco, CA 94108 [ARTICLE START]

49 Post Place Cafe Summary:

49 Post Place Cafe is a coffee house and coffee roastery located in San Francisco, California (United States). This is a non-smoking facility. 49 Post Place Cafe serves continental breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner. They are open 7 days a week. 49 Post Place Cafe has weekly specials and deals Appearing in the winter issue of Food & Wine Magazine, 48 Hours columnist Pete Wells named our mocha float one of the "Top 3 Drinks of 2011" alongside uberpopular drinks at high-end restaurants like Brooklyn's Del Posto. Our coffee flight (included with most meals) has been featured in both the New York Times and The Daily Meal, and our soy lattes are crafted from roasted beans we've curated from around the world. How to find 49 Post Place Cafe:   Address: 49 Post Street, San Francisco, California 94108 Phone: (415) 397 – 1700 Website: http://www.49postplacecafe.com/ Other Featured US Cafes Free Wi-Fi Cafes in New York City ; Free Wi-Fi Cafes in Chicago; Food for Thought - How Restaurants are Hooking Up Your Smartphone ; Restaurant Wi-Fi Survey 2012-2013 ;   [ARTICLE END] This article also lists a few other cafes that offer free wifi, which is great. But again, it would be nice to see some variation with the chains listed as well. As with any article of this type, what it says is useful to the readers.

It does so without delving into the moral and ethical dilemma that many readers would probably find offensive; i.e., Starbucks Wi-Fi policy: "All customers who are connected to a Starbucks WIFI network are asked to create a free account on the store's wireless service page or sign up for their email, then choose either Mobile Hotspot Sharing or Personal Hotspot Sharing. This is not a violation of our pay-to-access policy."

A large number of people had been using these free networks without paying for them. Why not require a purchase or at least a minimal payment before allowing customers to use their mobile devices? This is the "free" model that many companies will employ in response to the new bill. 

Firstly, it would be nice to know from a comp-sci point of view, what kind of firewall this is that prevents users from accessing the Internet while they are connected. And how secure is it? How easy is it for hackers and other malicious attackers to get into the network and steal data and/or harm devices? I understand these networks are often installed in coffee shops as an added on extra, but if things like this are left unaddressed by legislators we will have problems in future.

Conclusion

The title of the article is "Free Internet at Starbucks Nationwide?" It's true, the article is about free public Wi-fi offered at Starbucks coffee houses. But the article is, also, misleading. Why? Because not everyone should have access to public internet/Wi-Fi and no one should have to pay for this access.

Final thought on paid versus free WiFi: I am impatient and suspect many other people are as well. That impatience may lead us into abandoning older, but still useful, technologies simply because they take too long to do what we want them to do.